With all but four of 14 buildings sold, FitzGerald administration has brought in more money than anticipated

At the same time Cuyahoga County government is moving into a shiny new headquarters building, the FitzGerald administration is wrapping up the sale of a handful of properties it now no longer needs.

The move of about 600 workers to the headquarters at East Ninth Street and Prospect Avenue is expected to be completed by Aug. 12, when County Council holds its first meeting in the new building.

The FitzGerald administration initiated the property consolidation in 2011, believing it could save money. In a recent news release, it said the process should save the county $84 million in operating costs over the next 20 years.

Even with several properties still unsold and several selling at very modest prices, it is looking like the selloff will net the county more than the $30 million it projected when it put the properties on the market in March 2012.

With four of 14 buildings still without a purchaser, the county is booking about $31.4 million in sales.

The goal was achieved largely with the sale of five properties between Euclid Avenue and Prospect Avenue, along East Ninth Street — the Ameritrust Building, the Cleveland Trust rotunda, two adjacent buildings and a parking garage south of the Ameritrust complex — to the Geis Cos. of Streetsboro. Geis agreed in December 2012 to buy the package of properties for $27 million.

The county had valued the Ameritrust tower at $17 million. The other four buildings in the complex had tax values totaling $2.8 million before the county takeover a decade ago.

What gave that sale price a boost, of course, was the agreement that the county would consolidate its staff into a new building on part of the Ameritrust site. It's that eight-story tower that is now filling up with county workers. The county is leasing the $80 million building from Geis with an option to purchase it for $1 at the end of its 26-year lease.

Property moves

The reform of county government also helped. Unlike most Ohio counties, which have three-member commissions and a slate of elected officials whose duties and actions are governed by state law, Cuyahoga County voters in 2009 voted for a home-rule charter. That eliminated the commission and the other elected officials. The new charter also gave Cuyahoga County flexibility when it came to negotiating its contracts and purchases.

“Having home rule and more ability to negotiate on real estate deals has proven to be beneficial for us,” said Bonnie Teeuwen, the county's director of public works. “Before it was, "Submit your proposals,' and we took the highest bidder. This (charter) gave us the ability to be more creative and we've proven that it's a good process.

When the county sought bids for this group of properties, it did not have to take the highest bid submitted. In addition to price, the county scored bidders on redevelopment plans for the properties and strength of the bidder.

The value of many of the older buildings in the group was enhanced because the structures are eligible for historic tax credits, which lowers the cost of redevelopment.

The payoff to the county would have been even higher but for the decision to hold onto the 1950s-era Administration Building on Ontario Street, a valuable piece of land near the new Cleveland Convention Center, for a new, county-owned convention center hotel.

The county also turned over to the PlayhouseSquare Foundation the Loew's Building, which houses the Ohio and State theaters. The county stepped in and saved the building from demolition in the 1970s and has been the foundation's landlord/benefactor ever since.

The foundation paid for the restoration of the theaters but the county has been absorbing about $1 million a year in building upkeep expenses. The foundation is paying $1 for the building and relieving the county of the maintenance cost.

The biggest other deal was a three-building sale to Weston Inc. The Warrensville Heights developer that has taken an interest in downtown paid $3.4 million for three buildings — the seven-story Marion Building on West Third Street across from the Justice Center, the former auto title office at 1261 Superior Ave. and a county vehicle garage at 1801 St. Clair Ave.

Two county properties in Olmsted Township, totaling 7.5 acres were sold to the township.

Still in county hands

The properties still unsold include Courthouse Square, the Whitlatch Building, a former health center and the former juvenile court complex on East 22nd Street.

The closing date is Sept. 12 for bids for the 51-year-old Whitlatch Building, a three-story, 33,404-square-foot office building at 1910 Carnegie Ave. Bids for the Clement Health Center are being evaluated.

A deal for the former juvenile court complex may be completed soon. In an email, Ryan Jeffers, a commercial real estate broker with CBRE Inc., the firm that has been advising the county on its property disposal, said the county was “in the process of finalizing (an) agreement with a bidder to present to (County) Council for consideration.”

Teeuwen would not disclose the name of the bidder, but the Sisters of Charity Health System, which operates St. Vincent Charity Medical Center across the street from the vacant property, has in the past expressed an interest in acquiring it. A spokeswoman said that the health system is no longer a bidder for the property.

Courthouse Square, which has been home to the county executive's staff since the demolition of the county administration building, is being held off the market until the dust settles on the move into the new headquarters.

As a result of the streamlining into new space the county is also planning to create an operations and archive center.

County council at its Aug. 12 meeting is expected to discuss a lease for the 220,000-square-foot former Halle Warehouse on East 40th Street. Council has had lease legislation on its plate since late last year, when it postponed approval because of concerns about the building's age and condition.

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